Touch
by AnonymousLily
Summary: Carolyn reclaims a side of herself that had been lost in her marriage.
1. Chapter 1

Carolyn paid for the lavender silk nightgown, a bit guilty to waste money but also with a head full of daydreams of how Daniel would react when he saw her in it. It was floor length, two straps, simply cut and comfortable while somehow a bit old fashioned- just the thing to wear for him. Despite his poem, she knew he could touch, had even felt the heat of his leg when he sat close to her, just a breath from sitting thigh to thigh. That heat could almost melt her. A simple look from those piercing blue eyes touched her more profoundly than years of marriage to Robert had.

Robert had been a good man, a good father, mostly a good husband, and she had loved him almost like a brother. She had had two lovers before she married him, and had just assumed that sex and marriage went hand in hand. Robert had believed she was a virgin when she married him, and she didn't tell him otherwise. If she had been a virgin, Robert's love making probably would have left her thinking sex was highly overrated. She still felt gratitude and fondness for Blair, the man who had introduced her to sensuality and steamy sessions in bed or a sleeping bag. Granted he had been an unreliable ladies' man, but after she married Robert remembering Blair helped her get through not so steamy episodes with Robert.

Robert's foreplay consisted of brushing his teeth and shaving so as not to leave stubble burn on her face. What followed was always the same: lights out, a few kisses, and the missionary position under covers. It reminded her of an old childhood saying: 'Ready or not, here I come.' Any suggestions or attempts to do things differently led to him leaving and sleeping on the couch. Talking to him at other times led to worse consequences: him shutting down and the silent treatment for awhile. Once she had playfully grabbed his thigh and he slapped her hand away. He had an uncle who was not allowed to even see Candy or Jonathon. Thinking over things Robert had said, Carolyn believed the uncle may have given Robert unwanted attention when he was a child. She also decided that in the scheme of things, sex wasn't that important. She kept it all inside her as a secret, proof she loved and respected him.

Now here she was living with another nearly untouchable who had merely to give her a meaningful smile for her body to respond in ways it hadn't the whole time she had been married.


	2. Chapter 2

Daniel sat in the living room sipping tea as he listened to Jonathon spelling the words from this week's vocabulary list. The lad was smart but not, unfortunately, skilled in spelling. "You got all of them right this time but one."

"Which one?"

"You keep missing 'together.' Try breaking it into smaller words: to-get-her. That should help you remember."

"Okay. T-o-g-e-t-h-e-r. Is that right?"

"Right you are, my lad. I believe I had heard Martha mention something about a treat when you spelled each word on the list correctly."

Jonathon jumped up, saying "Thanks, Captain" as he dashed out the door.

Daniel grinned. The boy's grade in spelling was rising and Carolyn appreciated his emphasizing formal education—not that he himself had attended school very long as a lad. No male raised in his home would take home a report card ever again that read "tries hard," however. Family life agreed with him, absurd as it seemed.

He heard the click click click of her high heels as she came up the path outside. He dematerialized and rematerialized his tea cup on to the kitchen counter for Martha to wash. It wouldn't do for her to realize Martha made tea especially for him in the evening. He dematerialized as well, thinking about to-get-her, thinking about how he'd like to trace her form with his lips, from her cheekbone down her neck to . . . stop it, Daniel. She was a lady through and through, and as much as he wanted her, he would be bereft if she turned him away.

Invisible in the master cabin, he watched her hold up some feminine wisp against her curves, sigh, fold it up, and place it in a dresser drawer. She'd look like a Greek goddess in whatever it was. He sincerely hoped she did not intend on wearing it out in public.

He materialized then.


	3. Chapter 3

She jumped and shrieked. "Captain, you scared me! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"That was not my intention, my dear. I merely wanted to say that you're missed even if it's only a day in which you presence does not grace Gull Cottage."

She smiled impishly at him. "You missed me?"

"I believe that's what I said."

"I wasn't quite sure. It might have meant Scruffy was lonely without me."

"All the denizens of Gull Cottage missed you."

"Some more than others, no doubt."

He grinned teasingly. "Without your firm guidance, my dear, Scruffy is utterly impossible."

She kicked off her high heels and slid her feet into a pair of worn fuzzy pink slippers. "Ah, that feels good after a day of walking. Those blasted heels are a tad too tight."

"Language, Madam, language. Perhaps I could provide a foot rub and then a soak in warm salt water would not be amiss either."

She eyed him, a million comments on the tip of her tongue. Were aching feet all it would have taken all along? Distinctly erotic thoughts jumbled in her head as she meekly said, "Yes, captain." He directed her to sit in the corner of the sofa while he sat on the other corner. She swung around and placed her feet on his lap, keenly aware of his legs below her heels. He removed her slippers and began massaging her feet with warm hands, kneading out the ache. He flexed her toes and rubbed her arches while she watched, lips parted, her body as tightly wound as a spring, wanting so much more but also lost in the sensation of his strong hands actually touching her.

He stopped then, one palm resting on her ankles, and looked up. "Better, my dear?"

"Much," she murmured, eyes downcast, determined not to reveal how much she wanted those hands to keep touching her, to move onwards. She removed her feet from his lap and said, "I'll just get a tub and some Epsom salts. Thank you, that really helped."

He stood up, smiling, and said, "My pleasure." He dematerialized, leaving her sitting there, mentally replaying all she should have said or done. What if she had told him her dress was too tight? She swallowed back a laugh. It was just all so odd. Had Robert ever even touched her feet? Had Blair? Soak her feet in warm salt water? She grinned, realizing the ball was in her court now.


	4. Chapter 4

The captain smoked a cigar in the wheelhouse, pacing. She hadn't turned him away, but then she hadn't signaled acquiescence either. Who can understand how the feminine mind works? Perhaps he should've leaned down and kissed her delicate ankles or gradually moved the massage up those long legs which were constantly on public display in those handerchiefs she considered skirts. She had seemed so tense though; he could even feel it in her feet.

He tugged his ear in frustration. For a supposedly modern woman she could be terribly prim. Why had she removed her feet from his lap? A woman of his era who accepted such touch would be knowingly agreeing to much more. She was probably soaking her feet even now; he never should have mentioned that, never given her an easy way to end the moment.

He'd even read her blasted favorite romance, Pride and Prejudice, which left him wondering if the men in that book were red blooded. He had hoped to learn something of what approach appealed to her, but of course it was written by a woman and a spinster besides. Women were so indirect. It's a wonder civilization endured among these modern ladies who insisted on independence yet removed their feet with a mere thank you. A knock on the door raised his spirits; perhaps it was her! He called, "Come in!"

He tried to hide disappointment when Candy entered, carrying a cup of tea. "Martha sent this. She also said you can wash a cup surely. Oh, and Mom wants to talk to you. Whew, that cigar stinks!"

"Did she say what about?"

"Nope. I don't think you're in trouble though."

He laughed. "Where is your mother?"

"Typing. Always typing. Anyhow, Captain, goodnight. Don't you think a girl my age should be allowed to stay up later than her creepy little brother?"

"Perhaps the argument would reveal more maturity if you left out the word 'creepy.'"

"Hmm. Thanks Captain. I'll give it a try tomorrow."

"Good night, my girl."

She ran out as he sipped tea. He put out the cigar and smiled expectantly. She wanted to talk to him after the kids were in bed. He had commanded many a man, faced storms and pirates, he was more than able to take the woman he loved in his arms. Perhaps though, given Candy's reaction to his cigar, he should use a bit of mouthwash. Washing his teacup as well? In his era, a man could be a man and love a woman as well. He chuckled. Of course in his era, he hadn't been part of a family either.


	5. Chapter 5

Carolyn put on her new nightgown, brushed her hair, poured two brandies, and waited for the captain. After half an hour when he still hadn't shown, she softly called for him. He appeared and slowly looked her up and down, eyebrows raised. She blushed a little but maintained a smile, hoping she wasn't being too forward. "How enchanting you look, my dear. New dress?"

She raised her eyebrows right back at him. "New night gown. Brandy, my dear?"

Blast the brandy, he thought, but took it anyway and set it down beside her typewriter. A new revealing nightgown worn for him and her calling him dear called for strong measures. He placed his fingers gently under her chin so she could not look down and stared into her lovely green eyes, drinking in the desire he saw there. His hand strayed to the back of her neck as he pulled her toward him, pressing his lips to her lips, her body meshed against his. How small she seemed in his arms when she was so large a part of his thoughts! He felt her arms encircle him, her hands clutching his back. His lips drifted downwards on the side of her neck to her throat, where he detected the faint scent of jasmine. He felt her tremble, no, shake a bit in his arms. "Carolyn?"

"You make me feel more than any man ever has."

Although he thought it, he did not say 'even your husband?' Instead, he whispered, "I'm touch testing, which is softer, your skin or silk." He slipped the straps of her nightgown down, dampening her breasts through the silk with his breath and then kisses. He felt her gasp and then her small hands were unbuckling his belt, tugging it off, and then dropping it on the floor with a clatter.

"Aren't you warm in that wool suit, Daniel?" He shrugged off his jacket and pulled off his turtleneck, a little self conscious of the scars on his chest and the dolphin tattoo on his arm. She rained kisses along his scars, as if to tell him each was precious.

"Mom, did you hear that?" They both froze at the sound of Jonathon's voice through the door.


	6. Chapter 6

He whispered, "I suppose keelhauling the lad is out of the question."

She giggled and whispered, "Is the door locked?" He pointed at the door and then nodded yes. She called, "Honey, I'm trying to sleep. Go to bed."

"There was a funny noise. How come you're sleeping with the light on?"

"Why don't you take Scruffy and check downstairs? I'm sure it was nothing."

"I'll get the captain to check with me in case there's a bad guy." The captain sighed deeply and crossed his eyes at her.

She giggled again. "Jonathon, I had just knocked something over in here. I'm sure that's what you heard. Now go to bed and that's an order."

"Okay Mom, but if we're all killed in our beds by bad guys it wasn't my fault."

"Duly noted. Good night."

The captain whispered, "I'm surprised you didn't invite the boy in for a bedtime story, milk and cookies and what not while making me disappear."

She grinned at him. "Isn't family life great? Where were we? Do I need to remove your boots for you or can you manage that yourself?"

Grinning back, he sat on the bed and yanked off his boots and socks. Sitting there he could see the light filtering through her nightgown, her body distinct. "Did I tell you how lovely you are?"

She sat down beside him and said, "I was thinking of you when I bought this nightgown." She caressed his legs, his hips, his rigidity through his woolen trousers. He sharply inhaled.

"It's you, not the nightgown." He stood up and pulled her up with him. He grasped her nightgown and pulled it over her head. He undid his pants and pulled off the rest of his clothes, then gathered her in his arms, reveling in the touch of skin to skin.

She pushed him down on the bed and climbed on top of him, straddling him, easing on to him. "Move a bit that way or I'll fall out of bed and Jonathon will be back."

He carefully moved, maintaining contact, and said, "Aye, Madam" with a grin. Eyes locked, they rocked.


	7. Chapter 7

Afterwards she nestled in his arms while he lazily stroked her. She whispered, "Daniel?"

"Yes, love?"

"Do you think I'm too demanding? In bed I mean."

He laughed and kissed her on the nose. "Whatever you are, my dear, you provided sweet ecstasy."

"So I don't need to send someone to tell you I'll need to talk to you tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night seems a long way off. There's dawn before anyone else is awake, and I believe Martha is going to town tomorrow while the kids are at school."

"You keep track off our schedules?"

"I have for a long time, mostly as fuel for imagination."

* * *

The next evening when Carolyn entered the master cabin, she found the captain reading in bed, wearing a black silk robe, a glass of wine on the bedside table, another on her desk. "I hope I'm not being too demanding, my dear."

She smiled. "Oh, you look dashing in that robe! Martha seems to approve. She told me to keep doing whatever has put me in such a good mood." He grinned, holding up his wine glass in a toast.


End file.
